The Peace Committee meeting is Carolina Peace’s monthly organizing meeting. Newcomers and volunteers are welcome. Bring a potluck item if you can.

Special speaker Lorraine Barlett, retired US Army Lt. Col and JAG (Judge Advocate General), will speak on Guantanamo. As a JAG in her final assignment, she represented a Guantanamo detainee which gave her special insight into Guantanamo and military commissions. She will update us on Guantanamo, including the hunger strik, and share here experiences. USA Today published an op-ed of hers on Guantanamo, “JAG Lawyer: Gitmo’s Decade of Shame Stains US.”

The Peace Committee meeting is Carolina Peace’s monthly organizing meeting. Newcomers and volunteers are welcome. Bring a potluck item if you can.

Special speaker Lorraine Barlett, retired US Army Lt. Col and JAG (Judge Advocate General), will speak on Guantanamo. As a JAG in her final assignment, she represented a Guantanamo detainee which gave her special insight into Guantanamo and military commissions. She will update us on Guantanamo, including the hunger strik, and share here experiences. USA Today published an op-ed of hers on Guantanamo, “JAG Lawyer: Gitmo’s Decade of Shame Stains US.”

Donna Lorraine Barlett (Lorraine, as she prefers to be known) was born in 1958 in Memphis, Tennessee, where she also received her formal education, graduating with a B.A. in History of Religion from Rhodes College and a J.D. from the University of Memphis School of Law. After joining the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, she held a variety of legal positions and in 1993 obtained a Masters in Law degree. She served with the military for over 27 years, performing as Trial and Appellate Counsel, and in Legal assistance, Claims, Operational and Administrative Law. After three overseas tours and deployment to Sarajevo, Bosnia, in 1999 she resigned from the Regular Army and entered the Reserves. In October 2001 she was recalled to active duty and since 9/11 has held numerous assignments including three at the U.S. Army Signal Center, where she served from 2009-10 with the 7th Signal Command, an Army element of the United States CYBER Command. After attaining 20 years of active duty she nonetheless volunteered for one last job, culminating in her final assignment as a defense attorney with the Office of the Chief Defense Counsel (OCDC), Office of Military Commissions (OMC), in Washington D.C. While there she served as OCDC Training Officer, Ethics Advisor and Senior Army Deputy, supervising all OCDC Army personnel. But most significantly, she represented a detainee in Guantanamo Bay Cuba, and gained valuable insight into the OMC system. She retired as Lieutenant Colonel in August 2012, and has returned to private practice in Augusta, Georgia, where she continues to speak out on behalf of Guantanamo detainees, on human rights issues relating to cyber and drone warfare, and against the creeping militarism which now pervades our society. As an attorney she also advocates for disabled veterans and the homeless, and fights predatory lending practices.